1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the preparation of high surface area catalysts and catalyst supports and their use in hydrocarbon treating processes and chemical processes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hydrorefining processes utilizing dispersed catalysts in admixture with a hydrocarbonaceous oil are well known. The term "hydrorefining" is intended herein to designate a catalytic treatment, in the presence of hydrogen, of a hydrocarbonaceous oil to upgrade the oil by eliminating or reducing the concentration of contaminants in the oil such as sulfur compounds, nitrogenous compounds, metal contaminants and/or to convert at least a portion of the heavy constituents of the oil such as asphaltenes or coke precursors to lower boiling hydrocarbon products, and to reduce the Conradson carbon residue of the oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,585 discloses a hydrorefining process in which a petroleum oil chargestock containing a colloidally dispersed catalyst selected from the group consisting of a metal of Groups VB and VIB, an oxide of said metal and a sulfide of said metal is reacted with hydrogen at hydrorefining conditions. This patent teaches that a concentration of the dispersed catalyst, calculated as the elemental metal, in the oil chargestock is from about 0.1 weight percent to about 10 weight percent of the initial chargestock.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,769 discloses a hydrorefining process in which a metal component (Group VB, Group VIB, iron group metal) colloidally dispersed in a hydrocarbonaceous oil is reacted in contact with a fixed bed of a conventional supported hydrodesulfurization catalyst in the hydrorefining zone. The concentration of the dispersed metal component which is used in the hydrorefining stage in combination with the supported catalyst ranges from 250 to 2500 weight parts per million (wppm).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,111 discloses a process for hydrorefining an asphaltene-containing hydrocarbon chargestock which comprises dissolving in the chargestock a hydrocarbon-soluble oxovanadate salt and forming a colloidally dispersed catalytic vanadium sulfide in situ within the chargestock by reacting the resulting solution, at hydrorefining conditions, with hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,131,142 discloses a slurry hydrocracking process in which an oil soluble dispersible compound of Groups IV to VIII is added to a heavy oil feed. The catalyst is used in amounts ranging from 0.1 to 1 weight percent, calculated as the metal, based on the oil feed.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,876,270 discloses the use of oil soluble organometallic compounds in thermal cracking or in destructive hydrogenation (hydrocracking) of hydrocarbons to lower boiling products.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,091,831 discloses cracking or destructive hydrogenation carried out in the presence of oil soluble salts of acid organic compounds selected from the group consisting of carboxylic acids and phenols with a metal of Group VI and Group VIII of the Periodic Table. The oil soluble salt is used in amounts between 4 and 20 weight percent based on the feed.
It has now been found that high surface area catalysts can be prepared by adding a thermally decomposable metal compound catalyst precursor to a hydrocarbon oil having a Conradson carbon content up to about 50 weight percent, converting the catalyst precursor to a catalyst within the oil feed and recovering the resulting high surface area catalyst.